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C18 Copa MX Week 2 Review: Tuesday’s Games

Cafetaleros 2-1 León
Cafetaleros moved into first place in Group 1 with a 2-1 win against León. The visitors looked dangerous when Maxi Cerato and Álvaro Ramos combined, while Cafetaleros created chances of their own on the counter. But despite a number of opportunities at either end, neither team could break the deadlock in the first half.

The breakthrough didn’t come until the 74th minute, when Diego de la Torre sent in a cross for Leonardo Ramos, whose header made it 1-0 for the hosts. In the 82nd minute, Eduardo Pérez made it 2-0 as he won the ball in the box, got around the keeper, and scored. León pulled a goal back in stoppage time through Iván Piris, but La Fiera wasn’t able to go on to find an equalizer.

With the 2-1 win, Cafetaleros reach three points while León still has three.

Mineros de Zacatecas 0-1 Santos Laguna
Santos Laguna earned a 0-1 away win against Mineros de Zacatecas in their Group 4 debut. The result leaves Mineros winless in this competition. Santos took the lead early on, with Jonathan Rodríguez making it 0-1 for the visitors in just the 6th minute. The Laguneros came close to adding a second in the 35th minute through David Andrade, but his shot went just over the crossbar.

At the start of the second half, it looked like Mineros had found the equalizer, but the hosts’ would-be goal was disallowed for offside. Zacatecas were unable to get the ball into the net again as Santos managed the game well to make their lone goal stand up.

With the 0-1 win, Santos reaches three points while Mineros still have one.

Necaxa 5-0 Zacatepec
An emphatic 5-0 victory against Zacatepec put Necaxa top of Group 6 in their Clausura 2018 Copa MX debut. The Rayos came out looking to make their home field advantage count and they took the lead in the 19th minute through Víctor Dávila. In the 26th minute, Carlos Camacho made it 2-0 with his shot from inside the box, while Marcelo Allende gave Necaxa a comfortable 3-0 lead going into halftime with his 41st minute goal.

Allende got on the scoresheet again shortly after the restart as he made it 4-0 in the 48th minute with an assist from Dávila. Zacatepec were completely unable to react and did little to threaten a goal of their own. Instead, in the final minutes, Martín Barragán put an exclamation point on Necaxa’s win as he made it 5-0 in the 88th minute.

With the 5-0 win, Necaxa reaches three points while Zacatepec still has three.

Veracruz 0-2 Tampico Madero
Tampico Madero moved to the top of Group 7 with a 0-2 away win against Veracruz, giving the Tiburones Rojos their first loss of the competition. Veracruz started off strongly as they looked to take advantage of their home field advantage, but they couldn’t capitalize on their chances.

The game remained goalless until the final 15 minutes. The visitors finally found the breakthrough in the 76th, when Eduardo Aguirre pounced on a rebound given up by Melitón Hernández to make it 0-1 for TM Fútbol Club. Moments later, it was 0-2 as Alberto Jorge García finished off a neat bit of individual play by beating the keeper one-on-one to ensure the victory.

With the 0-2 win, Tampico Madero reaches three points while Veracruz still has three.

Cruz Azul 1-3 Puebla
Puebla moved to the top of Group 2 with a 1-3 away win against Cruz Azul. The result leaves La Máquina winless in the Copa MX after two rounds. A strong first half saw the visitors jump out to a 0-3 lead; Francisco Torres opened the scoring in the 17th minute from the penalty spot and then scored again two minutes later from the run of play to put Puebla comfortably ahead. Cruz Azul threw numbers forward as they looked to get back into the game, and Puebla took advantage of that as Alejandro Chumacero struck on the counterattack to make it 0-3 in the 33rd minute.

Cruz Azul pulled a goal back just after halftime, with Jordan Silva reducing the deficit to 1-3 in the 47th minute. However, despite repeated opportunities, including hitting the woodwork and having a shot cleared off the line with the keeper beaten, the hosts were unable to find a second goal, let alone the third they needed to equalize.

With the 1-3 win, Puebla reaches three points while Cruz Azul still has zero.

Pachuca 0-1 San Luis
San Luis earned their first win of the cup with a 0-1 away win against Pachuca in this Group 8 game, giving the Tuzos a losing debut in this competition. The visitors took the lead early and never relinquished it as Arturo Alvarado made it 0-1 for San Luis in the 8th minute with his header.

Pachuca controlled possession after that goal, but they weren’t able to do much with it aside from a few half-chances. Their best opportunity came in the 85th minute through Sebastián Palacios, but the Argentinian was denied by the woodwork as his shot hit the crossbar and rebounded away.

With the 0-1 win, San Luis reaches three points while Pachuca still has zero.